Protecting myself during a disaster situation

[rhaswell79]

I really want to better protect my home and my family in the case of a natural disaster or attack.  Looking back on disasters like Hurricane Katrina, I know people started to loot homes and steal from stores. I have a gun that I keep tucked away, but it’s been a while since I’ve brushed up on my skills. I live in the San Diego area, and am looking for shooting ranges, places to go, and classes to take that can help when it comes to protecting your home. I’ve considered taking a self defense class, or other classes offered in my area. Any advice on where to start? What are some good places to go?
 
“Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.” Steven Wright

[DesertDawg]

I just did a "simple" search for "San Diego, CA shooting ranges"....and there were numerous web sites listed.  Some of them also included training classes and various other related items.  I didn't list them for you, mainly because there were too many.... and if you're actually serious about learning, do your own homework!  No one is going to spoon feed you!

[HanzoSteel]

Try Calguns.net, someone will know of some good ranges in your area.

[Paul]

The San Diego police shooting range use to be open to the public. But that was years ago.

My best practice areas are out in the BLM lands where the people are few and the restrictions fewer. I like to bring steel plates out and set them up in the sand and then back off to 100 yards, mark that area, and then back further away. I'll engage the plates with rifle out to 300-400 yards out gradually going from irons to optics and free-hand (standing) to kneeling, and then prone. Out at 400 yards I can hit the plates but can't hear the impact. The steel plates are made of AR400 armor plating and give instant feedback - hit or miss, that's all that really matters. I have a couple that are 12" square and a couple that are 18" square. Once at distance I'll start back zig-zagging a different path to the gongs. Once I hit 100 yards I'll sent the rifles down and transition to the pistol ... not that I can hit the gongs at 100 yards with pistol ... it's a safety thing. At about 50 feet I stop and even then I'm careful about hot lead coming back from where it was shot from ... I had a 9mm slug bounce off of my jeans which put the fear of hot lead in my head!

The key benefit with the gong is instant feedback - no need to check paper later to see if you hit or missed the target. All or nothing, "ping" or nothing. It really reinforces your abilities very quickly. Hitting a 18" center-of-mass or 12" head gong is the best way to spend an afternoon.